


No Mask can Hide Every Scar

by Josweetz7



Category: Boku no Hero Academia, My Hero Academia
Genre: Fluff, Genderqueer, Heavy Backstories, M/M, Multi, Teacher/Student Romance, Transgender, trans boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 13:18:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13881666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josweetz7/pseuds/Josweetz7
Summary: It’s mere weeks before the big Sports Festival at UA High, and everyone is abuzz with excitement and intrigue. Everyone except Kyo, the boy with a paper bag face who has never craved the spotlight. Still, he’s determined to do well and to prove himself. But his plans to keep his head down and work hard until the events are derailed when he stumbles (quite literally) into a friendship with three members of the enemy class - Sweet Ochaco, stately Iida, and of course, the irresistibly cute Izuku Midoriya. How can he possibly focus on destroying his opponents when one of them is his only friend, and possibly more?





	No Mask can Hide Every Scar

###  Episode One: The Boy that Hides his Face 

###  It was a shoving match to get out of Class 1-A that day when Midoriya and his buddies had found themselves surrounded by a snarling crowd of peeved and jealous UA students. Once they were free of the mob - which had only gotten rowdier upon Bakugou’s provoking, as per usual - Izuku, Iida, and Ochaco were trying to find a quiet, secluded place to eat lunch. After all, everywhere where they went, they could feel hostile stares on their backs. Finally, they found themselves in a courtyard hidden in the inner walls of the school. It seemed like it was hardly ever used, yet still well-kept, just like the rest of the school. No corner went forgotten in a school as renowned as UA. The three choose one of the many empty picnic tables to sit down, and Midoriya retrieved the lunch his doting mother had packed for him, generously splitting it with his two best friends, who were unable to reach the lunch line for the crowd of glaring onlookers that blocked their paths. Each of them picking their favorites from Midoriya’s makeshift potluck, they chatted amongst themselves about preparing for the games and their thoughts on their opponents. Meanwhile, another boy, finding himself trying to avoid his fellow frustrated classmates, was forced by the flood of angry students out into the only safe haven, the solitary little courtyard. Free of the mob at last, he observed the mostly empty tables, decided against sitting down, and took a walk through the courtyard in an effort to relieve some anxiety. Lost in thought, he tripped and stumbled, his reflexes quick enough to stop his fall and grab the edge of a table, but not quick enough to realize that this was the only table in the entire courtyard that was occupied. Fumbling into an upright position and holding up his hands, he rushed to apologize, “Oh! I-I’m so sorry…” The chatter quickly bubbled into silence as the three glanced up curiously. Midoriya chuckled softly to diffuse the tension. “It’s okay, you can sit here, if you like,” he invites, warmly. Uraraka, her mouth full of sticky rice, tried to speak too. “Mmhmm! Urf ofsh hmmkah! Eh-” she pauses, noticing Iida and Deku staring at her. A rosy blush tints her round cheeks, and she swallows quickly to try again, “I mean, yes. Of course it’s okay! We’d love to have you join us.” Midoriya laughs again, ruffling her hair affectionately as she offers a dorky smile, and Iida finishes for them, “Please - have a seat.” The boy blushed - or, at least, it appeared he had blushed, for he was wearing a paper bag over his head and the brown paper flushed red where his cheeks would be, on either side of the tiny drawn-on smile. He sinks onto the bench, figuring it would be better to just accept the kind offer. “T-thank you…” he murmurs, straightening his blazer and tugging at his sleeves. He took a deep breath and surveyed the three strangers; The dignified looking boy with the glasses, the young girl with the round, flushed face and a grain of rice on her cheek, and lastly, the boy with the unruly green hair whom had first offered him a seat at their table. He turned his gaze back to his lap, feeling like a clumsy fool for interrupting their meal time. “It’s really no trouble,” Iida said, proudly, his natural atmosphere of gentile authority shining through, “We wanted to get away from the… staring… but, of course, it’s a pleasure to-” He wasn’t able to finish because, eager as ever to be open and welcoming, Uraraka hurtled in, “-make a new friend!” She clasped her hands in front of her chest, offering the newcomer a sweet, close-eyed smile, then grabbed a napkin to clean off her face. “Yes - make a new friend,” Midoriya nods in agreement, appearing the more reserved of the three, if equally as friendly and accommodating, “This is Ochaco, Iida, and I’m Midoriya - but, uh, everyone just… calls me Deku. What’s your name?” “I’m Kyo,” He says, awkwardly, a little shocked at how kind these three were, as he’d heard so many bad things about their class from his angered classmates. He fiddled with his hands underneath the table, trying to retain a calm outward composure. He searched for a conversation topic, but was not used to talking to people like this. “Nice… um…” he looked up at the sky, as if something awe-inspiring and mind-blowing to say might drop from the clouds and into his head, “...weather we’re having?” Nice going, Kyo. You know, you only get one shot a good first impression. All three students shared a chuckle, and Uraraka nodded, enthusiastically, as if Kyo had just revealed something truly revolutionary. “You’re absolutely right, it is nice weather! Are you planning on doing anything fun today? It would be a good day to go to the park!” “Or the library,” Iida adds, thoughtfully. Midoriya pipes up too, “Or maybe extra training? With the sports festival coming up and all. I bet everyone’s putting in a lot of extra work.” None of them had yet quite grasped the extent of his shyness and only felt an intense desire to make him feel accepted and included, to show as much interest in who he was and what made him special as they could. They wanted him to feel fully welcome. “O-oh… ah,” he searched for an activity to respond with, but knew that no matter what lie he came up with, he’d never end up going through with it, “...I don’t really do… fun things all that often.” He was sure that lying to his newfound maybe friends would probably be a bad way to start. “But, those all sound like wonderful ideas,” he hurried to say, tilting his head a little to the side, hoping he came off as friendly as the other three students were, “So, ah, about the festival… are you guys excited…?” He hoped the change of subject might distract from his anticlimactic answer to their earlier question. Uraraka was ecstatic that he seemed to be fitting in, or trying to at least, even if he was having some trouble at first. She fist pumps, “Yea! I’m gonna do my very best! Right, guys?!” Iida and Midoriya both clap and cheer, jumping at every chance to encourage the girl, not wanting to leave their friend hanging. “Everybody is taking it so seriously,” Midoriya says when they finished applauding, “It’s really inspiring to see everybody so fired up! What about you? Are you excited?” Kyo smiles internally at the girl’s enthusiasm, feeling a little more comfortable around the group now. “Well, ah, I’m a little nervous… but it’s exciting to think about, since it’s such a huge event, and there’ll even be scouts there. It could really make or break a young hero’s career…” He flicks his gaze to Midoriya, although it was slightly imperceptible, as his eyes were markered onto his bag-face. “I’m sure things will go great, though,” he attempts, hoping to mask the dread of failure settling in his gut with faux enthusiasm. “Well,” Deku posits, sensing Kyo’s frazzled nerves and hoping to ease them a bit, “Even if they don’t, there’s always next year. Just… work hard, and try hard, and, well, you’ll always keep improving! Plus ultra, am I right, guys?” “Plus ultra!” Ochaco and Iida exclaims, grinning with determination. They giggle some more, feeling very official, cheering their fancy renowned school’s fancy renowned school motto. Every second at UA was a thrill. Uraraka started, cutting the laughs into quiet, “Oh! That reminds me! What class are you in, Kyo? We haven’t seen you around before.” Kyo’s own gentle laughter died down to listen to Ochaco’s question before returning, a bit louder, a bit harsher. “Ah… I’m in Class 1-C.” He scratches his neck, hoping the smile etched onto his bag was convincing. Despite all the time he’d spent trying to get over the fact that he didn’t make the cut into the hero course, he still found himself getting upset over it. He came to the conclusion that he might not be as different from his angry classmates as he thought. “I hope to prove that I’m worthy enough to be transferred into the hero course,” he says, trying to remain on a positive subject. After all, being a hero was his, and his brother’s, dream, since he was a small child. “Oooh,” Uraraka nods, understanding spreading across her dimpled cheeks, “Yea, that seems to be a lot of people’s goals.” Midoriya leans over Ochaco’s lap a bit to see Kyo’s bag face a bit better and give him a fortifying smile, silently hoping he looked as encouraging as All-Might, “I think you can do it. Just work really hard. I mean, you made it into UA. That’s half the battle, right?” Iida raises a fist in affirmation and encouragement, “Absolutely! I think you would be a great addition to our class.” “For a long time, I never thought I’d ever be a hero,” Izuku goes on, clenching his own fist with a grin, “but then, someone I look up to told me otherwise. I had to work really hard, too. But look where I am now! I believe you can do it too, Kyo!” Kyo had instinctively pulled away when Deku had leaned in, feeling a bit too close for comfort, but he forced himself to settle down, giving a small nod and tugging at the collar of the black suit he wore under his uniform, “Well, ah… thanks. It means a lot that you guys think that.” Uraraka smiles and was about to respond with something to the tune of “Why, of course!” when she spotted the stretchy black fabric poking up near his chin, and she points at it in interest, “Oh! What do you have there? That’s not part of the uniform, is it?” Midoriya’s keen hero-nerd instincts told him that it probably had something to do with Kyo’s quirk; he just didn’t want to ask unless Kyo chose to tell them on his own. With the sports festival coming up, tensions were high, and people’s quirks and how they function were a private thing. You wouldn’t want anyone to get an advantage before the events, after all. “Actually, uh…” Kyo begins, looking away a bit, “it’s to cover an old injury…” He pulls the collar down a bit to reveal faded scars. “A car accident. I was really young.” It wasn’t a lie. Those scars really were from a car accident when he was very young. He just didn’t think it was time yet to tell them that these scars, while showing on his skin, were actually his brother’s, and he had inherited them with the body when Kyo passed on the scene of the accident. His internal smile grows sad, but the bag over his face showed otherwise, as if nothing was wrong. It was a bittersweet memory; after all, if his brother hadn’t sacrificed his life for Kyo, he’d still be here, but Kyo would be long gone. “They fade a little more every day, though,” he says, trying to sound happy, despite holding back tears, “One day, they’ll be hardly perceptible.” The three all seemed alarmed at the revelation of the scars and their origin, but not as much as they should have been, for they didn’t know the whole story yet, which was probably for the best. They all recovered at Kyo’s chipper statement. “But also, it works pretty well with my quirk,” Kyo continues, deciding to change the subject, despite the disadvantage it might put him in, “I can shift into any person’s likeness, as long as I have a solid understanding of their quirk. But you can’t tell anyone!” It might have been a trick of the light, or it might have really happened, but it almost looked like Kyo’s bag eyes winked. “Whoa,” Midoriya exclaims, throwing his palms down on the table, having wanted to comment on his sympathy for Kyo’s accident but his attention instead seized by his nerd brain when Kyo mentioned his quirk, “You’re like, a shape-shifter?! That’s incredible!” He whips out his notebook, scribbling some lines before looking back up, his eyes sparkling, “If you can take their shape, can you mimic their voice, too? How long does it last? Is it painful?” Ochaco starts to sweat, chuckling and resting a hand on Deku’s shoulder, “Calm down, we only just met him.” Kyo felt overwhelmed, but shook his head quickly, so Midoriya knew it was alright to ask questions. He’d never seen someone so excited about his quirk before. Yea, it was cool, but not particularly powerful or flashy, which was probably why he didn’t make it into the hero course. “I can mimic their voice, yes, and I can stay in that form for as long as I like, or at least as long as I don’t use their quirk. But once I do use their quirk - which I can only do once - I have five minutes before I return to my default form.” He takes a breath, a little winded from explaining it all, “Which means, aha, without the bag for a face. I try to avoid that, though.” “Ooh, so, you weren’t born with the bag?” Ochaco asks. With how, ah, unique everybody looked in this day and age, it was completely plausible that the bag had always been a part of him. However, she quickly explained, “I mean, unless that’s a personal question. It’s not like I don’t like the bag, it looks, you know, different, and cool. Mysterious.” However, it would be a lie if she said she wasn’t deeply curious as to what lie beneath it. “That one actually is a little too personal to answer on the first day of knowing one another,” Kyo says, politely, and looks away, trying not to think of his brother again. It wasn’t Ochaco’s fault, though. “But, hey, who knows, maybe you’ll get to see my face sometime in the future,” Kyo says, trying to pick the mood back up again. “So, ah, you keep a record of quirks, hm?” He inquires, switching his gaze to Midoriya, and the subject along with it. “Mmhmm,” Deku replies, heat rising to his cheeks from embarrassment, “I’m a bit of a nerd like that, I guess… I try to learn everything I can and see what I can take from it.” He scratches the back of his neck as he continues, “See, uh, like I said before, I used to think there was no chance of me ever becoming a hero, so… this is what I did instead, you know, instead of idle dreaming or abandoning the idea altogether. And now, it’s kind of a habit.” “I think that’s really admirable,” Kyo exclaims, nodding to the notebook, “It’s really cool to have that kind of outlook on things. I’m sure you’ll make an amazing hero with a learning personality like that.” He leans in, just slightly, not wanting to intrude, “May I… see what you have in it…?” “Ooh, yea, now that we’re talking about it, I kinda wanna see, too! Is that okay, Deku?” Ochaco joins, excitedly, “Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve had your nose buried in that notebook.” Iida hops in, too, leaning across the table intently, “I’m sure we could all benefit from what you’ve learned.” Midoriya, flustered but clearly flattered, flipped to the first page of his current notebook and pushed it towards them, “No, I don’t mind at all. That’s just one volume, though… I have a little over ten full, and counting.” “Oh wow!” Kyo gasped, “That takes a lot of commitment.” He looked up from the notebook to flash Midoriya his painted-on smile, “It’s honestly really inspiring to see how much heart you’ve put into this.” He flipped through the pages but was sure to give the other two students enough time to read along. Once they hit the remaining blank pages, he hands the notebook back. “We should, um, hang out sometime and you could show me some of your other ones.” He blushed and looked away a little, feeling like he was imposing on the other boy, “If you’re okay with that, that is.” Midoriya grins, delighted. It felt like a real honor for him to have Kyo ask to visit him. For some reason, it seemed like this wasn’t something he’d do often. “I would really like that! I never really had any friends before, so I think it would be really cool!” Ochaco started tapping the picnic table in excitement, “Ooh! Ooh! I want to come too! We haven’t hung out outside of school at all! Can I join you guys?” Iida raises a hand tentatively, as this was starting to sound like fun, “I would like to come as well.” Deku nodded, “That’s okay with me! Kyo? Are you okay with us all hanging out together?” Kyo nods, “Of course.” After a brief discussion, he writes the times and plans into his book, then proceeds to put the planner back into his bag and stands up. “I’m really glad to have met you all today.” He internally psyched himself up for the coming Saturday. Just the thought of leaving the house for something other than school or work had him ecstatic. “We’re glad to have met you too!” Ochaco smiles, pressing her palms together, “It’s nice to know that not everybody in the other classes see us as the enemy.” Iida rises from his spot, “Uraraka, Midoriya, we’ll be late. We should hurry.” Ochaco nods affirmatively and the two start to leave the courtyard, but Izuku lagged behind. “I’ll catch up with you,” He said, as they disappeared into the school, and then he stepped up to Kyo, pulling out his phone and handing it to him, “Here, let me have your number, so I can send you any extra info and stuff.” “O-okay.” Kyo takes Midoriya’s phone and types in his number. He hit save and handed it back, blushing a little. “Text me any time.” His voice was smooth, he praised himself in his head, because internally he was an anxious mess. This was the first time someone he could consider a friend has ever given him a phone number. “I will,” He replies, suddenly feeling his cheeks get a few degrees warmer, “I’m glad we met! You seem really cool.” Ochaco sticks her head back out the door into the courtyard, yelling anxiously, “Deku! Aizawa is already back in the classroom, you’d better hurry! I don’t want to know what he does to people who are late!” She then disappears again, sprinting down the hall and out of sight. “Oh, yea,” Midoriya realizes with a shiver at the thought of Aizawa’s cold gaze, “That does sound bad. Okay, I gotta go, but I’ll text you after school, okay? Bye, Kyo!” He waves and then darts off, tripping over himself as he tries to make it back in time. “Bye.” He mumbles, half to himself, after Midoriya was well out of earshot. Kyo goes in the other direction to the entrance of the opposite side of the courtyard. What an amazing group of people, he thought to himself, replaying the time in the courtyard in his head for the rest of class, anxiously awaiting school to be out and for Midoriya to text him. Even thinking about it made him feel warm and fuzzy. He never knew what it was like to have a friend that genuinely cared.

**Author's Note:**

> Kyo is my best friend Elliot’s MHA/BNHA OC. We are writing this story together on Google Docs. I own none of him, nor any of MHA/BNHA’s properties. I just loved Kyo so much, and we had so much fun with his imagines, as well as those of my OCs Syd, Riley, and the twins, that I wanted to write a fan fiction with him as the centerpiece. Please enjoy!


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